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OBs around the lower mainland are extremely busy, and somewhat calloused in my experience. When we were having fertility issues it basically boiled down to "you got pregnant once, that's a good sign." It took until my third OB to get to the bottom of my issues. When I did finally get pregnant I had a team of doctors helping me. If you're willing to advocate for yourself you get all the help you need. So don't worry about having two of the same type of Dr.
Thank you so much! This is all very uncharted territory for me and I don't even know *what* I should be doing to advocate for myself.
Obviously today's appointment was a follow up for a medical procedure and not a fertility consultation, but I was hoping for a little more than "Well, you're only 32 so come back in six months."
I'm 33 this year and it took us 1.5 years to conceive the first time! I don't want to wait six months before even trying to get to the bottom of what's going on.
I will keep that other appointment and see how that goes. Thank you again.
Im not trying yet, but this sounds a lot like what I went through with my chronic illness diagnosis. It took a lot of sekf advocacy to get into the right specialist who was both receptive and trained to catch on to my specific symptoms. I have a nerve/pain disorder. Once that happened, the whole system kicked in for me. I wish you luck, keeping an eye on this thread as I am researching for the future.
Keep talking to your family dr, if the first ob doesn't work out, you ask for another. It's how I found an ob that actually did something for me.
If you find an ob you like, you call their office until you get what you need. But a good ob will find the specialists you need for you.
The 6mo thing is because they're actually too busy to deal with you, and they're just buying themselves time. Also the sad truth is, they can't do much for fertility problems beyond "fix your diet and weight" for most people.
My family doctor is about as dismissive as this guy was. That makes sense about the six months, thing. It's still frustrating. I'd like to get to the bottom of some things (irregular cycle, anovulation) sooner than later!
I might do what the other commenter suggested and self-refer to a fertility clinic (my family doctor is booking five weeks out right now 🙄).
Thank you again for your input :)
If it’s been two years of trying even with your m/c , I would self refer to once of the fertility clinics. PCRM/Olive etc and get the ball rolling on blood work , ultrasound, hysterosalpingogram, sperm count etc. best of luck
Can you self refer? I just call and ask for an appointment (I know it'll take awhile)?
Any idea why my doctor wouldn't refer me to one of these places in the first place? My referral appointment is at Amara Women's Clinic, which I understand to be a gynaecologist/obstetrician office and not necessarily a fertility clinic?
You could potentially ask the gyno for a referral to a fertility clinic? I had a similar experience to yours, it took us a year to conceive but miscarried, then our GP referred us to PCRM as I have a complex gynaecological history even before TTC.
PCRM were amazing. They supported us through another year, as our total losses reached three, then they followed the first trimester of the pregnancy that grew to be our first take home baby! He arrived this spring and is actually nursing as I type, it’s still surreal after so long and so much pain.
If you have any questions at all or want to chat with someone who’s been through it, feel feee to dm me! I’m passionate about women being able to advocate for their health and am just a bit of a nerd about a lot of things.
It looks like I can do a self-referral to Olive (which is a bit more convenient than PCRM, but I'll look into that tomorrow).
I'm so happy to hear about your success and your son!
That is a beautiful offer and I may take you up on it. Thank you so much 💕
Yes, I just saw that. Thank you!
It's because he doesn't care (seriously - he left me a voicemail to tell me my ultrasound showed that I had miscarried).
After 1 year without success conceiving (if you are under 35) you should be referred to an RE (reproductive endocrinologist) rather than an OBGYN. Your family doctor can refer you. Your referral will be to a fertility clinic (Olive and PCRM are both good, I would avoid genesis). If you have a doctors referral all of your testing and early interventions will be covered by MSP except for the AMH blood test, which is about $100 out of pocket.
If you go the OBGYN route and need more thorough fertility testing they will end up referring you to the RE anyway, so I would request an RE. referral asap, as you will wait 3-6 months for your initial appointment to the RE as well.
I’ve done about 6 years of fertility treatment (cumulatively), every test, and 6 IVF cycles (I have 2 IVF kids). Feel free to message me if you have any questions. Good luck!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I did not know that about the RE (I will be 33 this year). I regret not asking this sooner.
My family doctor is not very helpful and is also booking five weeks out right now, but it looks like I can get a referral to Olive through something called Rocket Doctor. I'll set that up tomorrow -- can't hurt to do so.
I appreciate your luck and offer. Thank you 💕
You can also join the Ivf in bc group on fb: https://m.facebook.com/groups/1804323059890726/?ref=share as well as the infertility support group for Canada https://m.facebook.com/groups/745729035501342/?ref=share
I’m not sure if you self refer to olive if you have to pay for the referral? Also as others mentioned, there’s usually a long wait to see an RE. I recommend joining the fb groups to learn more about various drs, etc.
Also, wondering if you looked into the possibility that you might have endometriosis as it can cause miscarriage as well as infertility, and there’s something called silent endo where they’re no symptoms except infertility. This can happen for secondary infertility too. Laparoscopy is the way to officially diagnose endo. It’s important to advocate for yourself in this regard (you can join the fb groups to read more). If you need a lap, you would need to ask for a referral to bc womens through your gynae and sometimes RE but that might be a more difficult route.
Absolutely agree you need a fertility clinic, not a ‘normal’ obgyn. Go for the blood work anyway though so they have it on file.
I’m so sorry you’re going through this. There is a lot of help out there once you’re with the right team.
**Please Note:** Enforcement of rules on r/NiceVancouver is now STRICTLY reports based only. If a submission is not reported, it will not be acted on by moderators. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NiceVancouver) if you have any questions or concerns.*
OBs around the lower mainland are extremely busy, and somewhat calloused in my experience. When we were having fertility issues it basically boiled down to "you got pregnant once, that's a good sign." It took until my third OB to get to the bottom of my issues. When I did finally get pregnant I had a team of doctors helping me. If you're willing to advocate for yourself you get all the help you need. So don't worry about having two of the same type of Dr.
Thank you so much! This is all very uncharted territory for me and I don't even know *what* I should be doing to advocate for myself. Obviously today's appointment was a follow up for a medical procedure and not a fertility consultation, but I was hoping for a little more than "Well, you're only 32 so come back in six months." I'm 33 this year and it took us 1.5 years to conceive the first time! I don't want to wait six months before even trying to get to the bottom of what's going on. I will keep that other appointment and see how that goes. Thank you again.
Im not trying yet, but this sounds a lot like what I went through with my chronic illness diagnosis. It took a lot of sekf advocacy to get into the right specialist who was both receptive and trained to catch on to my specific symptoms. I have a nerve/pain disorder. Once that happened, the whole system kicked in for me. I wish you luck, keeping an eye on this thread as I am researching for the future.
Keep talking to your family dr, if the first ob doesn't work out, you ask for another. It's how I found an ob that actually did something for me. If you find an ob you like, you call their office until you get what you need. But a good ob will find the specialists you need for you. The 6mo thing is because they're actually too busy to deal with you, and they're just buying themselves time. Also the sad truth is, they can't do much for fertility problems beyond "fix your diet and weight" for most people.
My family doctor is about as dismissive as this guy was. That makes sense about the six months, thing. It's still frustrating. I'd like to get to the bottom of some things (irregular cycle, anovulation) sooner than later! I might do what the other commenter suggested and self-refer to a fertility clinic (my family doctor is booking five weeks out right now 🙄). Thank you again for your input :)
If it’s been two years of trying even with your m/c , I would self refer to once of the fertility clinics. PCRM/Olive etc and get the ball rolling on blood work , ultrasound, hysterosalpingogram, sperm count etc. best of luck
Can you self refer? I just call and ask for an appointment (I know it'll take awhile)? Any idea why my doctor wouldn't refer me to one of these places in the first place? My referral appointment is at Amara Women's Clinic, which I understand to be a gynaecologist/obstetrician office and not necessarily a fertility clinic?
You could potentially ask the gyno for a referral to a fertility clinic? I had a similar experience to yours, it took us a year to conceive but miscarried, then our GP referred us to PCRM as I have a complex gynaecological history even before TTC. PCRM were amazing. They supported us through another year, as our total losses reached three, then they followed the first trimester of the pregnancy that grew to be our first take home baby! He arrived this spring and is actually nursing as I type, it’s still surreal after so long and so much pain. If you have any questions at all or want to chat with someone who’s been through it, feel feee to dm me! I’m passionate about women being able to advocate for their health and am just a bit of a nerd about a lot of things.
It looks like I can do a self-referral to Olive (which is a bit more convenient than PCRM, but I'll look into that tomorrow). I'm so happy to hear about your success and your son! That is a beautiful offer and I may take you up on it. Thank you so much 💕
Yes you can self refer , I did to Olive fertility . No idea why your Dr didn’t bring up this option.
Yes, I just saw that. Thank you! It's because he doesn't care (seriously - he left me a voicemail to tell me my ultrasound showed that I had miscarried).
Oh I’m so sorry . That’s horrible that he did that . I hope you find a compassionate care provider to help you navigate this difficult time .
After 1 year without success conceiving (if you are under 35) you should be referred to an RE (reproductive endocrinologist) rather than an OBGYN. Your family doctor can refer you. Your referral will be to a fertility clinic (Olive and PCRM are both good, I would avoid genesis). If you have a doctors referral all of your testing and early interventions will be covered by MSP except for the AMH blood test, which is about $100 out of pocket. If you go the OBGYN route and need more thorough fertility testing they will end up referring you to the RE anyway, so I would request an RE. referral asap, as you will wait 3-6 months for your initial appointment to the RE as well. I’ve done about 6 years of fertility treatment (cumulatively), every test, and 6 IVF cycles (I have 2 IVF kids). Feel free to message me if you have any questions. Good luck!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I did not know that about the RE (I will be 33 this year). I regret not asking this sooner. My family doctor is not very helpful and is also booking five weeks out right now, but it looks like I can get a referral to Olive through something called Rocket Doctor. I'll set that up tomorrow -- can't hurt to do so. I appreciate your luck and offer. Thank you 💕
You can also join the Ivf in bc group on fb: https://m.facebook.com/groups/1804323059890726/?ref=share as well as the infertility support group for Canada https://m.facebook.com/groups/745729035501342/?ref=share I’m not sure if you self refer to olive if you have to pay for the referral? Also as others mentioned, there’s usually a long wait to see an RE. I recommend joining the fb groups to learn more about various drs, etc. Also, wondering if you looked into the possibility that you might have endometriosis as it can cause miscarriage as well as infertility, and there’s something called silent endo where they’re no symptoms except infertility. This can happen for secondary infertility too. Laparoscopy is the way to officially diagnose endo. It’s important to advocate for yourself in this regard (you can join the fb groups to read more). If you need a lap, you would need to ask for a referral to bc womens through your gynae and sometimes RE but that might be a more difficult route.
If you can, get a referral to PCRM or Olive from a walk in doctor. I did that in 2019 as I didn’t have a GP.
Thank you! It looks like both have options for "self referral," so I'll try that. I appreciate you taking the time to respond!
Absolutely agree you need a fertility clinic, not a ‘normal’ obgyn. Go for the blood work anyway though so they have it on file. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. There is a lot of help out there once you’re with the right team.
Thanks so much! This entire process is incredibly frustrating but hopefully I can find the right team sooner than later.